War-time Warmington

A War-Time Wedding, 1941

John Neal’s parents married during the second world war. The bride, Winnie, was the daughter of Mrs Wootton of Chapel Cottage and the groom, Fred Neal, was the son of Mr and Mrs Walter Neal of Manor Farm. Several Greetings Telegrams arrived on the happy day.

One of the telegrams

The wedding gifts, from relatives, Methodist and Anglican friends and from many, many people in the village are redolent of their period. Typically too the donors are listed by title, for example Mr and Mrs, rather than by Christian names. In the attached list villagers are marked (v). The bride later related that ‘the whole village’ chipped in from their ration books to provide for the wedding
reception in the village hall.

Burmese bowl, Nora – (Hazelwood), a school friend of Winnie’s, later Nora Hicks

Winnie’s two sisters, Margaret and Dorothy, bought her the wedding dress as a present, to enable her to have a white wedding. Dorothy bought it at Leicester when she was on holiday as she and Winnie were about the same size. She was delighted with it and it fitted her perfectly. (The dress was later used by her sister Margaret for her wedding.)

The headdress and veil were borrowed from her sister-in-law, Elsie, (George’s wife).

The journey to Weston-super-mare for their honeymoon wasn’t easy as all signposts had been removed!

Their first home was at what is now known as ‘Little Dene’, Warmington.